This Land is Moreland

I prefer my work to be adventurous, even if the work itself is not adventure-oriented.

It's high school basketball playoff season, and as a still sometimes employee of Blue Ridge Communications TV-13, I've been picking up a lot of extra work helping to televise games on the weekends. These usually involve me traveling many miles outside Philly (to my former hometown and beyond). Yesterday, we had a rare game scheduled in the Philly suburbs, so I finished up my morning Wash Cycle route and met the TV crew there for an equally rare weekday appearance.

The location was Lower Moreland High School, which is only about 15 miles from my house in South Philly. Knowing I'd be getting back some time after 10, and knowing the parking situation in my neighborhood, driving simply wasn't an option. I've received commuting assistance via train to work for the TV station in the past, so why not do it again? This time I'd be going a little further out of my neighborhood via the regional rail:

That's my bike parked on the platform at Market East Jefferson Station. I did entertain the idea of riding all the way up to the event, but ultimately decided not to due to already logging more than 20 miles earlier in the day, and passive commutes are a rare luxury in my life. I also wanted to take a look at the art inside the station:

Alright, that's a stretch. I had no idea this was here until I stepped onto the platform. Still looks pretty neat though. I popped my bike onto the train, which is supposed to have dedicated areas for wheelchairs and bicycles (more on that later). All in all, the approach to temporary storage on the train out was pretty simple and effective. Think of it as a bike seatbelt:

They don't have these kind of options on the subway, where you're forced to hold on to your bike. I felt sorta spoiled yesterday. After a short 30-minute train ride, I found myself in a strange place known as Bethayres. Sounds made up. The weather was positively beautiful, with temperatures in the high 50's and not a cloud in sight. It's kind of a shame that the school was just a short 1.5 mile ride from the train station. I probably could have rode for a lot longer:

I arrived with plenty of time to spare, and the game went off without a hitch.

After tearing down, I made a literal mad dash back to the train station. It was around 9PM when I left the school, and trains from this far out only run once an hour after the evening rush. If I hadn't made it to the platform by 9:30, I wouldn't have gotten home until close to midnight. Thankfully, I made it with about 15 minutes to spare. I was the only person in sight. Kinda creepy:

This train wasn't nearly as accomodating as the first. There was no bike lock-in area, only a slightly open area towards the end of the car where I assumed a wheelchair could fit (but not strap in - seems like a violation). Anyway, I made do with the space I had available:

Due to space constraints coming through the doorway, I experienced a casualty getting in and out of the train as well. My rear light mounting bracket snapped off as I rounded the corner into the aisle:

It wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't have to ride 2+ miles home from the train. Nonetheless, I stuck to the widest and brightest streets possible and made it home safely, and I bought a new bracket today so I'll have something to do tonite I guess.

I couldn't do this commute every day, but it's always nice to shake things up a bit. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty excited about this when it randomly came up on the schedule. I have no idea when (or if) it will happen again, but it was fun for the brief while it lasted.

Step Up, Step Back

I first heard the phrase "Step up, step back" way back in 2013 on my second day living in Oregon, during introductions at the sustainable shelter workshop in which I was participating. Its meaning wasn't initially clear to me, but I never forgot that phrase (or who said it - if you're reading this, thank you). It suddenly became crystal clear to me a few weeks ago.

• Step up: It's your time to shine.
• Step back: You did your job. Let someone else have the spotlight.

About a year ago, I was given an opportunity, and I took it. I moved into upper management at Wash Cycle because there was a clear need for my knowledge and talent. A year later, our team has accomplished a lot for sure, but the needs of our team have far outgrown my capabilities and areas of expertise. So, I've stepped back, and I mean that in the most literal sense of the phrase:

Because you didn't really think I would write a whole blog post about my office work on my cycling blog, right? I'll simplify it to this: we made a lot of changes, I helped our team work out a whole lot of kinks in our processes, and now we're ready to blossom into a mature business. A lot of work is still left to be done, and there are others who are better suited to do it. I'm better off going back to my role as a front line soldier in the plant and on the bike.

I'm not going to lie and tell you it was easy to make this decision. Emotional attachment aside, I sit here one week post-transition with some moderate soreness in my quads after pedaling around Philly for more than 100 miles, the first time I've done that in a week since some time last Autumn. Even I'm exhausted after all that. My welcome back to the cycling fold included just about everything. Light loads:

Overflowing baskets:

75-degree temperatures. Freezing rain. Old friends. New faces.

Taking a step back was definitely just that, but also the best way to move forward. I'm excited to see what's to come...

Guest Blog: The Importance of Something (Seemingly) Meaningless

I wrote a post on my other blog about recent events in my life and the city of Philadelphia. You might have heard that our American football team won the championship last night. Enjoy!

Nice Rack: Broad & Locust

One of my main overarching themes on this blog has been to find bicycle-related art, some in the form of bike racks. One of my self-imposed challenges is to get pictures of these racks without any bikes actually attached to them. It's a difficult task at times, but the dead of Winter helps out on occasion.

For example, this bike rack that sits just a half block away from my office is usually loaded with bikes on an average day. With many fewer cyclists willing to brave the blistering cold temperatures, it's a rare occurrence to see it sitting bare:

This was part of the Bicycle Coalition's series of artistic bike racks installed in 2014:

Just blocks away from City Hall, it's almost eerie to see such a normally busy place sitting so empty:

I'm also writing this on MLK Jr. Day, which is a holiday for some. That could be a contributing factor to the emptiness.

Stone Cold Lock

You might say Christmas or my birthday came late (or early) for me this year, for a couple reasons.

I received a couple gift cards for BikeLine/Trek Bicycle for said occasions from my Aunt(s) just a few weeks ago, one of which I used to help purchase a long overdue replacement for my Kryptonite U-lock that had broken last April:

Quite obviously, that's the new lock, not the one that broke. I chose to get this particular model for two reasons: it came with the frame mount holder (that strange looking thing in the middle) and because I had great luck with my first Kryptolok. It lasted nearly 3 years. After my first one broke when the key got stuck in the lock, I picked up this Bell lock from Walmart in a pinch, because it was literally the only one available at the time:

As you can see, the key is still in the lock, and that's the reason I went lock shopping yesterday. For the second time in the last month (both during extreme cold), the key or lock didn't function properly. After the first occurrence, I sprayed WD-40 in the mechanism and it seemed to work fine for a few weeks. It literally froze up again on Saturday night.

Luckily I was able to get the key stuck in the "open" position and force the lock off with a hammer, but you know that old saying "Fool me once..." and so on. I made it home Saturday night and did eventually get the key out, but I decided I'm not messing around with this hunk of junk any more. Forgive the rant, but I've hated this lock from day one, simply because of its shape:

If you look at the Kryptolok, you can see the steel tube is round. The Bell lock is ovular, which they claim makes it more secure/tougher to cut/etc. The unfortunate side effect was that it made locking the wheel and frame to bike racks quite arduous at times because of the elongated shape. The little things can make the biggest differences sometimes. Additionally, it had a rain cover for the key hole that was supposed to prevent the mechanism from getting dirty or wet, which also didn't work (clearly). Good riddance. Fortunately, they have a lock program and a warranty, which I registered for and plan to take advantage of.

Anyway, all frustrations aside, I chose to use this experience as an opportunity to take a long ride to Manayunk, which is the closest Trek Bicycle location relative to my home:

I didn't get to ride to Manayunk on my birthday as I'd originally planned, so I'll consider this the belated fulfilling of my tradition. I didn't stop for lunch or beer though, as I had to get home to watch sportsball. I was also delayed by some fierce wind out of the northwest (I'm estimating 15MPH). As you can see, I rode right into the teeth of the beast yesterday on the way out. That's actually preferred, because the ride home was much easier. The silver lining is that there was not a cloud in sight:

I won't sugarcoat it though. The last few miles were still a bit rough just because of the earlier difficulty, and there were definitely icicles forming in my beard. Also ice forming inside that water bottle up there. Neat stuff. Overall not the worst ride I've ever taken, but I think I'm good on long rides for at least the next couple weeks, and hopefully my lock problems are gone for a long time...

Citi Cycling

After riding a bike every day in December (regardless of mileage, I did it!), January has been leaving me feeling deprived in the cycling department. Due in part to some harsh Winter weather and scheduling, I've already been forced to keep the bike inside 5 days so far this year. But, as has been the case so many times, when the time is right, the adventure finds me...

I had a day trip to New York City planned for yesterday to meet up with my girlfriend and daughter. It took a lot of coordination, but everything was set up so we'd get there right around the same time (I'd be taking the train, they'd be flying). Long story short, their flight was delayed and it was too late for me to re-schedule my train ticket, so I found myself in midtown Manhattan with about 2.5 hours to kill.

I'll be honest, I was feeling a bit anxious just being in New York. Even though I live in a city, it's a completely different energy level up there. To cure my anxiety, I decided to go for a bike ride (I realize that sounds counter-intuitive considering the surroundings, but also consider that it's me who's writing this - would you expect anything less?).

I bought a CitiBike daypass and set out for some pseudo-adventuring in the Big Apple:

CitiBike is NYC's bike share program, in case you can't tell from the picture above. This is (I think?) the 5th different bike sharing program I've used in the past year. They're all very similar. You swipe a credit card, answer a few questions, sign your life away, get a 5-digit code to enter at the dock, then pull out a bike:

These pics were taken in Central Park, which was actually the end of my first ride. The parameters of most of these systems require a bike to be returned to any station before 30 minutes elapse, otherwise additional charges of $4 per half hour apply. By the time I'd reached Central Park, I was at about 20 minutes and didn't want to risk going over my time. The nice thing about CitiBike is that there are eleventy billion stations (exact number - look it up) scattered throughout Manhattan, so they're never far away.

The day pass was only $12 (Philly's is $10), which allots for unlimited 30-minute rides, so even though I had to stop, I could just check out another bike from the same station without paying anything extra. You could actually go all day doing this and get wherever you need to go, as the pass is valid for 24 hours.

The bikes themselves are all very similar as well. They're a bit clunky, but those big handlebars serve another purpose beyond steering. I like that they provide a small rack for carrying items, as well as safe cycling and legal information for the lay person who may not be familiar with the rules of the road:

As for the rest of the bike, I have some mixed feelings. The first bike I rode had this strange "slick shift" which never seemed to catch into the next gear, but rather slid between lower and higher gears as you rotated the handle on the right handlebar:

I much preferred the second bike I grabbed, which had actual notches to let you "feel" when the gear switched:

As for the rides themselves, I had no major issues. I think that's partially because I'm an experienced urban cyclist. I won't lie to you though - New York cycling is a completely different animal than Philly cycling for a few reasons. One, more people than not seem to regularly ignore one of the major laws pertaining to cyclists: ride with the flow of traffic. Two, pedestrians in NYC are much more likely to cross against a red light. I don't know if this is the case simply because there are more people in NYC or if it's a culture thing or both, but whatever the case, I feel like an inexperienced cyclist might have had a rough time. And this also doesn't take into consideration the added difficulty of piloting those big, clunky bikes. Again, I had no major issues.

The cycling infrastructure was pretty solid from what I experienced. There are a lot of dedicated bike lanes in Midtown Manhattan, including this one on Broadway (not the best pic, but you get the idea):

Dig the green space to the left, too. In addition, some of these lanes include dedicated traffic signals for cyclists. I've seen these in other cities (DC comes to mind) but have yet to recall seeing one in Philly:

I had started at Madison Square Garden, rode up to Central Park (above), then turned around and headed south, stopping briefly in Times Square to be a little tourist-y:

I didn't do a whole lot of sightseeing otherwise. That's not really why I was there in the first place. I did, however, stop for lunch at a brewery in Chelsea:

Death Avenue Brewing, to be exact. Again, would you expect anything less from me at this point? It wasn't too far from MSG and my eventual base for the evening. At $11, the price per pint was a bit steep, but considering the location, it was to be expected. At least it was tasty:

After lunch, I rented another bike and headed East to finally meet up with my girlfriend. I biked across the island in about 20 minutes. Not too shabby! I also saw this unique signage beside the bike lane. I'm not sure who's trying to keep pigeons as pets, but nonetheless, there it is:

Due to my girlfriend's flight delays and my desire not to run myself ragged, I ended up changing my train reservation to this morning so I could stay overnight. Even a few extra hours was well worth the reservation change fees. Not pictured, I rented a bike to get back to Penn Station from the East Village this morning. Not surprisingly, the commute at 6AM was much more laid back and uneventful due to lack of traffic and pedestrians. I guess the city does occasionally sleep.

I'll admit that when the IndeGo bike share launched in Philly, I had some speculations, but in the last 2 years, I've found bike sharing to be quite crucial to getting the most out of my increasingly travel-oriented lifestyle. My galavants notwithstanding, I can't tell you how much money I saved in transportation costs by not having to take a taxi, train, or bus yesterday. A small adventure and functionality wrapped together, and that's true just about every time I put my foot on a pedal.

So now, the logical mission is to ride a bike share in as many cities as possible, right? Stay tuned...

Bikes, Beers, and Birthdays (Abridged Version)

Even though my birthday is tomorrow, today was supposed to be the second annual installment of my birthday bike ride (the first being last year). It's a tradition I actually got from my friend Todd, who rides his age in miles every year on or about his birthday.

See, the thing about planning a day to ride weeks in advance of the actual date is that Mother Nature doesn't care about your plans. Due to bitter cold temperatures and wind chills, I was forced to postpone my planned ride to Manayunk. I'll try to get one together for January on a day that's not as brutal.

My backup plan was to ride to the new Yards Brewery location, a place I'd not yet visited until today. From my house, it's only about 3.5 miles one way, much more palatable than the original 20+ miles I'd planned for today. I somehow still convinced my girlfriend to ride along with me. We did need to pause to get out of the elements a few times, and occasionally to admire the scenery:

That picture was taken in Franklin Square. I was pretty surprised to see the fountain still operational with temperatures in the teens. In any case, it made for a unique view.

We survived the trek to lower North Philly and made it to the tap room. There's not much bike parking outside (that will hopefully change in the near future), but when we arrived there was plenty of room inside:

In addition to the beer (obviously), the new space also features a food menu that caters to most anyone. Back in my day, ramen was never considered a gourmet restaurant choice. My how times have changed:

We bundled up again and headed for home. This ride was pretty tame compared to a lot of the crazy things I've done, but I'm actually really proud of my ride companion for toughing this out with me:

Nonetheless, I was ready for a hot shower and a nap by the time I got home. It's just not that pleasant to be outside today. Kudos to my co-workers who were out delivering laundry in this brutality, or really anyone who also toughed it out. I saw a few of you out there today.

I've got no major bicycling plans for the last couple days of December. I'm likely just going to do a couple laps around the block to keep my "ride a bike every day" pledge, and considering that I've somehow logged over 250 miles this month, that's definitely enough. Stay warm out there, friends.

#bikeyourbirthmonth